This publication is issued in conjunction with an exhibition and educational programme of the same title, which took place at the Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art in late 2016 and early 2017. Its fundamental objective is the presentation of artists’ and philosophers’ quest for the limits of means of expression, transgressing the “visible” and the “present”. Art here is seen as a holistic creative praxis, within which, alongside the utilization of the newest 21st century means – biomedicine, informational technologies and robotics – a significant number of “non-scientific” elements are represented: intuitions, metaphors and assumptions When pondering over the scientific and technological possibilities of human modification, authors of the book refer to examples of a variety of agents of reality which, in eschewing their purely biological definition, require us to make sense of the relationships between life and multiplicity. Among such agents are programmable matter, symbiotic forms and hybrids, becoming an automaton, as well as the various manifestations of transitional, unidentified and indeterminate life forms The primary medium that is the subject of this project is hybrid matter, and the principal issue examined, that of its “living” aspect, capacity for expression, and reserves of existing possibilities which may be discovered if one finds oneself in this “semi-living” dimension. In the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, such a model of overcoming one’s own “personhood” in art would have sounded “Stirb und Werde!” – die and be renewed, cease and become.

About the Editor:
Dmitry Bulatov is the curator of the National Centre for Contemporary Arts (Russia). He is a two-time winner of the National Innovation Award for contemporary arts (2008 and 2013) and a Golden Nica nominee from Prix Ars Electronica (Austria, 2014) in the category Visionary Pioneers of Media Art.

In his art, Patrick Tresset engages with the discourse on creativity and its contemporary, trans-humanistic offshoots. He explores art transformations and reflects on art-making and art-appreciation strategies. At the same time, he attends to the place assigned to robots and other forms of artificial intelligence in the human world as well as to their future mutual relationships.
The particular value and sophistication of Patrick Tresset’s work stems not only from the status achieved by its products – which are both its subjects and objects, its works and authors. These values derive also from the hybrid weave of various trends and artistic forms that come together in his work and distinguish it: drawing, kinetic art, cybernetic art, robotic art, generative art, performance art, interactive art, installation art, conceptualism – the list could go on. The interactions between them generate the internal dynamics of Tresset’s works, as forms of hybrid art, playing a significant role in the characteristics of its properties and its general tenor. The significance of his art also derives from its scale and the seriousness of the aesthetic, philosophical and social problems it raises and makes conspicuous, as well as from the discussion it provokes and questions it poses, becoming in this way an important part of contemporary artistic and scientific discourses.

„Bio-robotic art and its cultural context” is a collection of texts accompanying the exhibition presenting the works of Australian artist Guy Ben-Ary, realized at Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art in 2015.
The publication includes the texts of: the exhibition's curator, critic and theorist Richard W. Kluszczyński; creator of the art bio Guy Ben-Ary; a professor of political science at the University of York Shannon Bell; art critic and curator Monica Bello; art historian and cultural theorist and a professor at the resort PAST Dmitry V.Galkin; artist Andy Gracie; independent curator, writer and artist Gemma Ben-Ary; artist, writer and researcher Kirsten Hudson; Dr. Joanna Jeśman, culture expert; interdisciplinary artist Tanya Visosevic; interdisciplinary artist Nathan Thompson; an artist and curator Boryana Rossa, and a PhD student at the University of Lodz Martyna Michalska .

Catalog accompanying the exhibition What? With What? Table [Politics] Jarosław Modzelewski, Marek Sobczyk summarizing the current, ongoing since the 80s cooperation between Jarosław Modzelewski and Marek Sobczyk. For the first time collects source material on this artistic phenomenon: reproductions of almost 100 fulcolor paintings, original lyrics of artists, rich archival material, a calendar of joint activities, as well as a new critical text Mateusz Falkowski dedicated to the creative method - Table What? What?See details

Price:38,00 zł

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KEN FEINGOLD: Figures of Speech

The publication “KEN FEINGOLD: Figures of Speech” is a compilation of essays by different authors, referring to the exhibition by American artist Ken Feingold in Gdańsk City Gallery 2 in 2014 in scope of the Art+Science Meeting project. The authors of texts are: curator of the exhibition, critic and theoretician Ryszard W. Kluszczyński, conceptual artist Ken Feingold, media historian and theoretician Errki Huhtamo, art historian Edward Shanken, Head of the Art Studies Department in the Faculty of Artistic Education at the University of Arts in Poznań Ewa Wójtowicz. See details

The publication “Robotic Art and Culture. BILL VORN and his Hysterical Machines” is a compilation of essays by different authors, referring to the “Hysterical Machines” exhibition by Canadian artist Bill Vorn in Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art in 2014. The authors of texts are: curator of the exhibition, critic and theoretician Ryszard W. Kluszczyński, creator of robotic art Bill Vorn, co-founder of the Foundation of the Institute of Digital Culture Piotr Celiński, writer and independent curator Nicole Gingras, art and technology historian Dominique Moulon, researcher on the contemporary computer art Joanna Walewska.See details

Price:29,00 zł

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Cities on the edge

The catalogue is a resume of four exhibitions that have been developed within the "Cities on the Edge": "Here and Now", "Politics: I do not like it, but it likes me", "The wall behind something / nothing * happened "," Bogota. A City on the Edge ". The works of artists from the Palestinian Authority, Cuba, Colombia was presented, from places that we connect more with conflicts than the arts. The cycle was a reflection on the situation of the contemporary homo politicus, a human being entangled in politics.

The catalogue preceded by an introduction of Thomas Marcin Wrona "Edges of Art" presents the profiles of the artists participating in the project.See details

Price:30,00 zł

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Konrad Smolenski S.T.R.H.

A book Konrad Smoleński S.T.R.H. was published on the occasion of a solo show by the artist at the Laznia Cenre for contemporary Art in Gdańsk which took place from 21 June till 18 August 2013 and was curated by Kamila Wielebska. Besides the photo documentation of the exhibition, the volume consists of critical texts and essays that create a broader context for this presentation.See details

Price:20,00 zł

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Soundplay

The “Soundplay” book was published in the scope of an art project iniciated by Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art in 2012. Soundplay project is a series of workshops, concerts and lectures focused on the on the art of sound. The book consists of several texts written by: sociologist and theoretician of phenomena connected with hearing, Michał Libera, theoretician of art of new medias, Maciej Ożóg, architect, Justyna Borucka, specialist in building of experimental instruments, Johannes Bergmark, musician, Michał Górczyński and musician and creator of simple electronic music devices, Maciej Wojnicki. A DVD with films made during a workshop lead by documentarist Marek Zygmunt has been enclosed.
Curator of the Soundplay project is Krzysztof Topolski.